Taking on Goliath

 

Susan O'Connor had no idea she was about to pick a fight with one of the world's biggest companies when she reached fro the package of light bulbs inside a Petaluma drugstore last year.

"My eyes went to the green box. I thought I would try some of these," the 32-year-old mother of four recalled.

Three weeks ago, General Electric Co. agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by O'Connor and other consumers who charged that GE used misleading packaging to make them believe the light bulbs were environmentally friendly.

O'Connor's legal odyssey began in August 1992 when her fiancé teased her about buying several GE "Energy Choice" light bulbs to replace the bulbs that were going dark in her Petaluma home. 

 

Petaluma homemaker Susan O'Connor

The light bulbs were more expensive than conventional bulbs - $4.79 for a package of four "100-watt replacement" bulbs vs. $3.49 for a package of regular 100-watt GE bulbs. But O'Connor said she decided to puchase them because the green-and -yellow box proclaimed the light bulbs would save $2.40 in electricity costs, conserve natural resources and reduce air pollution. "My fiance said, 'Why did you go buy this? This is a gimmick,'" O'Connor said. "I told him, 'It says we're going to save money.' He said, "No, it's just the packaging you paid more for.'"

Indeed after closely reading the package and examining the light bulb, O'Connor discovered the "100-watt replacement" was simply a 90-watt light bulb that produced less light and used less energy.

"I was upset," O'Connor said. "My first thought was, 'How can they get away with this?' They were charging more and actually giving the consumer less

A co-worker at her escrow office heard O'Connor complaining about the light bulbs and urged her to contact Robert Mills, a San Rafael attorney who specializes in class-action lawsuits in investment fraud cases. O'Connor hesitated at first but then decided to call Mills when she heard similar complaints about the light bulbs at work.

"Somebody has to stand up for the consumer," she said.

Mills researched O'Connor's complaint and filed a class-action lawsuit against GE last January. The suit accused the company of carefully designing the packaging for its Energy Choice bulbs to mislead consumers into thinking the light bulbs were more energy efficient than conventional bulbs.

"In fact, Energy Choice bulbs, due to their low light output, do not 'replace' corresponding regular bulbs any more than a pint of mild 'replaces' a quart," Mills charged in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit hit General Electric two months after it reached agreement with the Federal Trade Commission and a group of state attorneys general over similar complaints about it's packaging of Energy Choice and Miser light bulbs. Under the FTC agreement, General Electric agreed to alter its packaging to display the actual wattage and light output - measured in lumens - more prominently. Previously, the actual wattage and lumens were described in small print while the packaging featured the higher-wattage bulb it is intended to replace.

"We had already begun the process of modifying our packaging prior to this class-action suit," said Janice Fraser, spokeswoman for Ge Lighting in Cleveland

Three other class-action lawsuits against GE were consolidated with O'Connor's suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. After several months of negotiations, Ge agreed to pay a $3.25 million settlement to end the case - although it denied violating any law and insisted it had disclosed enough information for consumers to make an informed decision.

"We vigorously dispute any kind of wrongdoing at all," Fraser said. "They (the Energy Choice bulbs) have a lot of energy-efficiency value and conservation value. It provides nearly the same comparable light. Consumers could not tell a difference in the amount of light just by sitting under the light."

O'Connor disagrees.

"You can definitely see that it puts out less light," she said.

Under settlement GE will pay $1 million to 12 law firms involved on four suits. Most of the remainder of the money will be distributed to consumers through coupons and rebates ranging from 50 cents to $2 for each bulb. GE can spend up to $250,000 publicizing the rebates.

O'Connor, who does not get any money from the settlement, says she is happy with the agreement.

"This will set a precedent for companies. They will think twice about their advertising gimmicks," she said.

O'Connor said she does not view herself as a consumer warrior or an environmental activist. "I'm just your average homemaker," she said , adding with a chuckle: "I don't like being teased. That's basically how it happened."

She urges other consumers to be vigilant - and to take action.

"Instead of complaining, try to do something about it," she said. "People get scared sometimes to take the initiative. But we are not going to make things better unless we try to do something about it."